Young children are being read books that calls on them to re-assess their gender identity, thanks to an educational charity that works as part of a movement encouraging “queering the education system”.

Nurseries for toddlers and junior (elementary) schools have been targeted by the government-backed Educate and Celebrate organisation, whose founder Elly Barnes, who has been made an MBE for her work has spoken approvingly of “breaking the binary” when it comes to gender.

Britain’s Sunday Times has identified a number of picture books on reading lists generated by the group for schools, which include titles such as Introducing Teddy, which features a male bear called Thomas. Speaking to his friend, the protagonist says: “I need to be myself, Errol. In my heart, I’ve always known that I am a girl teddy, not a boy teddy. I wish my name was Tilly, not Thomas.”

In another book, Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?, the main character queries their gender identity. Questions for children to engage with after reading the book include: “Does it matter if Tiny is a boy or a girl?”, and “Should Tiny be allowed to play football and dress up as a fairy?”.